Department for Transport

Motor Vehicles: Excise Duties

Baroness Kennedy of Cradley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their latest assessment of the level of road tax evasion.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The Department for Transport carries out a roadside survey every two years. The survey estimates the rate of vehicle excise duty evasion among vehicles seen on UK roads. The latest survey, conducted in June 2019 and published in November 2019, estimated the rate of on road evasion to be 1.6%. The results confirmed that this is statistically significantly lower than in the previous survey carried out in 2017, which measured the level of evasion at 1.8%.

Aviation: Coronavirus

Baroness McGregor-Smith: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much financial support they plan to provide to the aviation industry in the UK to support that industry during the COVID-19 pandemic; and how they calculated the amount of such support required.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The aviation sector is crucial to the UK’s economy and businesses across the industry are able to draw on the unprecedented package of economic measures we have put in place during this time. This includes a Bank of England Covid Corporate Financing Facility scheme and the job retention scheme, both of which have been used by the aviation sector. In exceptional circumstances, where a viable company has exhausted all options and its failure would disproportionately harm the economy, the Chancellor has made clear, the Government may consider bespoke support on a ‘last resort’ basis. We will notify Parliament of the spend incurred as a result of any deal.

Leader of the House of Lords

Carbon Emissions

Lord Browne of Ladyton: To ask the Leader of the House what plans she has to arrange a debate on the report by the Committee on Climate ChangeReducing UK emissions: 2020 Progress report to Parliament, published on 25 June.

Baroness Evans of Bowes Park: My Noble Friend the Government Chief Whip does not intend to schedule such a debate in Government time. Members who wish to initiate a debate of their own are able to do so by tabling a question for short debate. Subject to the progress of legislative business, it is expected that questions for short debate will be re-introduced during October.B Evans signed (pdf, 29.1KB)

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Pedestrian Areas: Greater Manchester

Baroness Northover: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the guidance about smoke-free pavement licences to Manchester City Council from the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government was agreed with the Department of Health and Social Care.

Baroness Northover: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the guidance from the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government to Manchester City Council regarding smoke-free pavement licences, whether they will publish their evidence for the assertion that businesses will close if councils implement these licences.

Baroness Northover: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the guidance from the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government to Manchester City Council regarding smoke-free pavement licences, which organisations and individuals they (1) consulted with, or (2) received representations from, on the economic impact of such licences.

Lord Greenhalgh: The Government is committed to protecting hospitality businesses impacted by the pandemic. It was for this reason that we introduced the Pavement Licence provisions in the Business and Planning Act 2020, supporting businesses by removing red tape and making it easier, faster and cheaper to serve customers outdoors. The Pavement Licence Guidance that was published on 22nd July alongside the Act was cleared with the Department of Health and Social Care. This guidance has not changed. It sets out detail on how local authorities can issue pavement licences to support businesses, including those in the hard hit hospitality sector, to return to work safely and continue serving their local communities.

Ministry of Justice

Crown Court: Video Conferencing

Baroness Morgan of Huyton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to enable Crown Court proceedings to be viewed remotely from outside the court estate.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: Open justice is a fundamental principle in our courts and tribunals system and will continue to be so as we increase the use of audio and video technology.Since the introduction of the Coronavirus Act, any hearing participant or member of the public may, with the permission of the judge, join a hearing remotely from outside the court estate, using an internet enabled device to access the Cloud Video Platform.

Crown Court

Baroness Morgan of Huyton: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many courtrooms in the Crown Court of England and Wales are currently set aside for the exclusive use of members of the public and press to observe (1) jury trials, and (2) hearings other than trials, such as sentences.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: The information requested is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. Public hearings, including those that are partly remote hearings, continue to take place in open court rooms, and access to observe these is via the public gallery. Special arrangements have been put in place to ensure physical access to jury trials for the media and members of the public, who have been able to attend court throughout the pandemic, if safe to do so. In order to allow appropriate social distancing to be maintained at all times, a second courtroom linked by closed circuit TV may be provided to enable the media and others to watch proceedings.

Rule of Law

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to produce a list of laws which can be broken in a specific and limited way without penalty; and if so, when such a list would be available.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: There will be no such list.

Civil Partnerships and Marriage

Baroness Blackstone: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 3 August (HL7029) and byLord Keen of Elie on 4 August (HL7031), what is the timetable for (1) their proposed interim reform of the law governing approved premises for marriages and civil partnerships, (2) the proposed limited reform and non-legislative options relating to religious weddings, and (3) the implementation of the provisions in the Civil Partnership, Marriages and Deaths (Registration Etc) Act 2019 for the introduction of an electronic system of marriage registration and the update of the marriage entry to include the names of both sets of parents of a couple.

Baroness Blackstone: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 3 August (HL7029) and byLord Keen of Elie on 4 August (HL7031), why they are pursuing reforms of marriage law separately to the ongoing Law Commission review; whether they plan to bring forward legal recognition of humanist marriages before the conclusion of that review; and if not, (1) why not, and (2) what consideration they have given to doing so on an interim basis.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: The Government announced in June 2019 that the Law Commission will conduct a fundamental review of the law on how and where people can legally marry in England and Wales. This is an important and complex social policy reform and requires careful thought and consideration. As part of the review, the Government invited the Law Commission to make recommendations about how marriage by humanist and other non-religious belief organisations could be incorporated into a revised or new scheme for all marriages that is simple, fair and consistent.The Law Commission has published its consultation paper and the Government, following the final report, will decide on provision on the basis of the Law Commission’s recommendations.In parallel, the Government made clear when it announced the Law Commission project that it would also, as an interim measure, undertake work to allow more civil weddings and civil partnerships to take place outdoors through secondary legislation.Alongside the Law Commission project, the independent Sharia review recommended an offence apply to religious celebrants marrying in a ceremony that is outside the ambit of the Marriage Acts. Any legislative proposal, including such an offence, must be thoroughly assessed for its fairness to all religious groups and for how far it could achieve the change of practice intended. That is why it is with the greatest care that the Government is continuing the exploration of both limited reform and non-legislative options that it began in detail last year.On the question of timing the Government will make its intentions clear in due course.And in regard to the implementation of the provisions in the Civil Partnership, Marriages and Deaths (Registration Etc) Act 2019, the Home Office is currently working on the secondary legislation, which will need to be debated in Parliament, to enable these changes to be introduced and an implementation date will be announced in due course.

Marriage

Baroness Whitaker: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to allow commercial wedding celebrants to perform legally recognised marriages without being precluded from carrying on a business of solemnising marriages for the purpose of profit or gain.

Baroness Whitaker: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to consider extending legal recognition of humanist marriages since 2013; and what further plans they have to do so.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: Reform to fundamental marriage law in England and Wales needs to be wholesale and not undertaken on a piecemeal basis. That is why we invited the Law Commission last year to review the law on how and where couples may marry. As part of that review, the Law Commission will make recommendations about how marriage by humanists and other non-religious belief organisations could be incorporated into a revised or new scheme for all marriages that is simple, fair and consistent.The Law Commission’s consultation on weddings also considers how the law could allow independent celebrants to solemnize legal weddings. The Government will decide on provision on the basis of the Law Commission's recommendations.The Law Commission published its consultation paper on 3 September and will welcome contributions from all stakeholders.

Private Rented Housing: Coronavirus

Baroness Grender: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Civil Procedure (Amendment No. 4) (Coronavirus) Rules 2020 prevent a possession notice where the notice was served to private rented sector tenants between 26 March and 28 August.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: The Government has recently announced that the stay on possession proceedings will end on 20 September 2020. Once cases resume, the provisions in Civil Procedure (Amendment No. 4) (Coronavirus) Rules 2020, together with a new temporary Practice Direction, will put in place procedures to manage possession proceedings. Under those arrangements, any possession notice served during the full period of the stay from 27 March, when the suspension began, to 20 September may be reactivated upon the landlord’s application. Following reactivation these cases may be referred to a judge for directions or listed for disposal.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Zara Mohammadi

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations theyhave made to the government of Iran about the case of Zara Mohammadi; andwhat response they have received.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: We are aware of reports concerning the detention of Zara Mohammadi and are monitoring her case closely. Iran's Kurdish population face significant and ongoing discrimination and harassment. A substantial proportion of Iran's political prisoners are Kurdish. Iran's human rights record remains of serious and longstanding concern to the UK and we regularly raise human rights with the Iranians at all levels.

China and Hong Kong: Travel Information

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the advisory warning issued by the government of the United States on 14 September against travel to mainland China and Hong Kong; what assessment they have made of the risk to UK citizens travelling to those destinations of the government of China imposing “arbitrary detention and exit bans” (1) to compel cooperation with investigations, (2) to pressure family members to return to China from abroad, (3) to influence civil disputes, and (4) to “gain bargaining leverage over foreign governments”.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: We have taken note of the advisory warning to US citizens issued by the US Government on 14 September.On 11 September, the FCDO amended the travel advice for mainland China to highlight the risk of arbitrary detention, including for British nationals. China's authorities have under certain circumstances detained foreigners citing 'endangering national security'. The advice explains that National Security is interpreted broadly and you may be detained without having intended to break the law. This change did not raise the level of our advice, but was made in order to clearly and factually reflect recent incidents.FCDO Travel Advice also highlights the possibility of travel bans being imposed in mainland China on those suspected of committing a crime. If an individual is subject to detention or a travel ban, the level of assistance the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office can provide is set out in our publically available guidance 'Support for British nationals abroad'. This includes raising individual cases with the Chinese authorities.The FCDO travel advice for Hong Kong details the risks under the new National Security Law of mainland authorities detaining individuals under the terms of the law, with the maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

Disease Control

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask Her Majesty's Government what urgent action they are taking, together with international partners, to mitigate the impactof the COVID-19 pandemic on global efforts to address (1) HIV and AIDS, (2) tuberculosis, and (3) malaria.

Baroness Sugg: COVID-19 threatens to reverse hard-won gains in HIV, TB and malaria. This Government is working hard with international partners to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on global efforts to address these diseases.Many of our partners are taking urgent action on all three diseases, including the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. The UK is the second biggest donor to the Global Fund's fifth and sixth replenishments. To date, the Global Fund has provided up to US $1 billion to help countries adapt HIV, TB and malaria programmes in the face of COVID-19, ensuring essential services such as testing, treatment and access to medicines can continue and also to strengthen health systems more broadly.The UK is also supporting marginalised groups at risk of HIV - such as LGBT+ people, sex workers, mothers and young children - to advocate for their needs and rights in the pandemic. And we continue to invest in research and product development, working with partners to provide tools that are urgently needed to fight all three diseases. For example, UK support to Unitaid is enabling developing countries to access pioneering technology for HIV, TB and malaria.

Russia: Pipelines

Lord Campbell of Pittenweem: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Germany about the future of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline since the poisoning of Alexei Navalny.

Baroness Sugg: We are working closely with Germany, and other international partners to demonstrate that there are consequences for using banned chemical weapons anywhere in the world.The UK remains concerned about the impact Nord Stream 2 will have on European energy security and on the interests of Ukraine. We continue to be supportive of initiatives that strengthen and diversify the supply of gas and competition across the European market. We engage regularly with our close allies and partners, including Germany, to keep them abreast of our position on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and to discuss European energy security more broadly.

Ministry of Defence

Ministry of Defence: Consultants

Lord Touhig: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much was spent by the Ministry of Defence on consultancy feesin each year since 2010.

Baroness Goldie: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.The Ministry of Defence publishes spend over £25,000 on a monthly basis as part of its transparency data routine publication which is accessible at the link below:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/mod-finance-transparency-datasetAdditionally, the Ministry of Defence publishes annual accounts. The latest of which can be found at the link below:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/mod-annual-reports

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Nature Conservation

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the conclusions of the report by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds A lost decade for nature, published on 14 September; and what steps they are taking to address the conclusion that "the UK will need to show precisely how it plans to fill the gap between rhetoric and reality in its own backyard".

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: In 2019, the UK Government published its assessment of progress with the goals and targets set under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). In common with the RSPB’s assessment, this highlighted ongoing declines in biodiversity in the UK, and despite progress, a clear need to do more. Both reports point to success stories on which we can build, and the UK Government is determined to do just that. Domestic biodiversity is a devolved matter in the UK. In England, our 25 Year Environment Plan marked a step change in ambition for wildlife and the natural environment. We are already taking steps to meet this ambition in our own backyard and in support of wider global efforts. We have brought forward the first Environment Bill in over 20 years with ambitious measures to address the biggest environmental priorities of our age, including restoring and enhancing nature. The Bill will set the framework for establishing long-term, legally-binding environmental targets, for air quality, for water, for waste and at least one target on biodiversity. We are investing in restoring nature, for example through our £640m Nature for Climate fund to restore peatland and plant new woodland. We are developing a new Environmental Land Management scheme that will reward farmers and land managers for delivering environmental public goods. The UK is also at the forefront of marine protection with 357 Marine Protected Areas protecting 25% of UK waters, and we are examining ways to pilot Highly Protected Marine Areas. Biodiversity loss is a global problem that requires a global solution. Our international spending on biodiversity has been growing and was over £200 million per year as of 2017/18. We are playing a leading role in developing an ambitious post-2020 global framework under the CBD and putting nature at the heart of our COP26 Presidency, paving the way for transformative action to tackle climate change and biodiversity loss holistically.

Rivers

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask Her Majesty's Government what percentage of rivers in England are considered to be in good ecological condition; whether this figure has declined since (1) 2015, and (2) 2010; if so, what are the reasons for such a decline; what active monitoring of the condition ofsuch rivers they undertake; how regulatory oversight of those rivers is conducted; when the next Environment Agency report on the state of the environment in terms of water resources will be published; and what is the reason for any delay in its publication.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: The 2019 data classifies 551 river water bodies out of 3767 as achieving good or better ecological status or potential. This represents 14.6% of all rivers in England. In 2015, 554 rivers were classed as achieving good or better ecological status or potential, representing 14.7% of all rivers in England. Headline national figures for water quality have remained static over this time period. The results in 2010 were that 22% of all rivers in England were meeting good or better ecological status or potential, but the methods for assessing rivers changed significantly after 2010 which mean this is not a comparable figure.The Environment Agency (EA) undertakes targeted monitoring to provide the evidence it needs for its planning, regulatory and protection work. The law in England establishes wide-ranging regulatory requirements. For example, abstractions and discharges are permitted under the Environmental Permitting Regulations (2016), and the EA set a total of 4623 water quality permits in 2019.The EA reports on the state of the environment in a number of different ways, including releasing data and analysis to meet specific statutory requirements and producing State of Environment (SoE) reports to provide a balanced picture of environmental state in England that go beyond these specific statutory requirements. A Water Quality report (Feb 2018) and a Water Resources report (May 2018) were produced as part of a rolling programme of SoE reports. These and other SoE reports will be updated at an appropriate time. There is currently no date set, or specific requirement for, an updated Water Resources or Water Quality report.The Government recognises that more needs to be done and is committed to improving the water environment as set out in the 25 Year Environment Plan. We are tackling pollution from poor farming practice with regulation, financial incentives and educational schemes for farmers. Our Environmental Land Management Scheme, rewarding farmers for public goods, will be a key part of that. In addition to government investment in many local improvement schemes, water company investment is being scaled up to £4.6 billion in the next five-year, price review period. The Government is working with water companies to consider how best to address the problem of sewage discharge from storm overflows and our new chemicals strategy will build on a robust statutory regime to ensure chemicals are managed and handled safely.

Home Office

Domestic Abuse: Coronavirus

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the level of domestic violence during the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK.

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with groups supporting victims of domestic violence in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: During this unprecedented time we have had regular and frequent discussions with domestic abuse organisations, the Domestic Abuse and Victims’ Commissioners, law enforcement and other Government Departments to monitor and assess the impact of COVID-19 on victims of domestic abuse.We are aware that domestic abuse helplines have reported significant increases in calls during lockdown, some of which may be due to increased awareness or enquiries from friends or families. The police have also reported an increase in reported domestic abuse incidents based on provisional data (a 6% increase in the four weeks up to 5 July compared to the same period last year). What is critical is that victims are able to reach out for advice or support if they need to do so.That is why the Government has ensured the availability of information on domestic abuse and sources of advice and support including through the #YouAreNotAlone campaign, and provided funding to ensure that vital support services continue to be available.In May, the Government announced £76 million of the £750 million package of support for charities would go towards groups supporting survivors of?domestic abuse, sexual violence and modern slavery?as well as to ensure that vulnerable children and young people continue to get the help they need.In addition, the Home Office has provided £1.2 million of funding to domestic abuse organisations to help bolster helplines and on line services to ensure that these remain available to victims.

Armed Forces: Commonwealth

Lord Touhig: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans, if any, they have to help armed forces personnel from Commonwealth countries to settle in the UK.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Government highly values the service of all members of HM Forces, including Commonwealth nationals.It is for these reasons we explicitly provide for non-UK veterans discharged from HM Forces to obtain settlement in the UK after having served for four years or more or having been discharged for medical reasons due to their service.The Ministry of Defence make clear to foreign and Commonwealth recruits into the Forces the process by which they and their families can attain settlement in the UK and the costs involved.

Offences against Children

Lord Pearson of Rannoch: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they will publish their paper on group-based child sexual exploitation; and who externally has been appointed to review the paper prior to its publication.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Home Secretary announced on 19th May that the Government intends to publish a paper on group-based child sexual exploitation. This work is currently ongoing, and we will publish the Paper by the end of this year.We are working closely with an External Reference Group to provide feedback on the Paper as it develops.Membership for the External Reference Group was chosen to allow for a variety of expertise that may provide constructive challenge on this issue. The group has a broad membership that reflects a range of experience, including academia, criminal justice, the voluntary and community sector and representatives of victims and survivors.Details of the membership to the External Reference Group will be made public in due course.

Terrorism: Religion

Lord Pearson of Rannoch: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the role of religion in participation in terrorism.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The legal definition of terrorism, in section 1 of the Terrorism Act 2000, identifies that a religious cause may be the motivation for committing or threatening terrorism. However, this is alongside political, racial or ideological causes, all equally seen as evidence of terrorism. This is in line with Government’s wider understanding of radicalisation in that there is no single pathway and the motivation of each individual may vary.

Hatun Tash

Lord Pearson of Rannoch: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether Hatun Tash wasdetained by the policeon 13 September; if so, on what grounds; whether there are any restrictions in place on Hatun Tash's ability to speak (1) at Speaker's Corner, or (2) publicly elsewhere; and if so, why any such restrictions are in place.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: We do not comment on individual cases.

Department for Education

Education: Finance

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to provide financial support (1) to further education, and (2) to sixth form, colleges.

Baroness Berridge: The government previously announced on 31 August 2019 that it will invest an extra £400 million in 16-19 education in the academic year 2020-21. This is the largest injection of money in a single year since 2010 and represents an increase of 7% in overall 16-19 funding. As part of this, the base rate of 16-19 funding will increase by 4.7% in the academic year 2020-21, from £4,000 to £4,188.In addition, through the 16-19 Tuition Fund we are providing funding of up to £96 million for the 2020-21 academic year. This will enable sixth form colleges, general further education (FE) colleges and other 16-19 providers to provide small group tuition for disadvantaged students whose learning has been disrupted as a result of COVID-19.We are also continuing to invest in education and skills training for adults through the Adult Education Budget (AEB) (£1.34 billion in the 2020-21 academic year).We have introduced a change to the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) AEB Funding Rules for the 2020-21 academic year, to enable providers to use their Learner Support funds to purchase IT devices and meet learners’ IT connectivity costs.We have also funded professional development support for staff to improve their skills and confidence in delivering online learning through funding the Education and Training Foundation and the EdTech Demonstrator Programme which delivers free training for FE providers.The ESFA will continue to pay grant funded providers their scheduled monthly profiled payments for the 2020-21 academic year. Where applicable, providers were able to apply for the ESFA Post 16 and European Social Fund provider relief schemes for support. For colleges in significant financial difficulties the existing support arrangements remain in place, including short-term emergency funding.My right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer has announced an extensive and unprecedented package of support measures for businesses and employees - FE providers can apply to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme for non-grant-funded employees, which has been extended until the end of October 2020.In addition, we are funding 7 College Collaboration Fund projects to develop new high- quality digital curriculum content which will begin to be available for use by the sector from the Autumn.In March this year, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that we are going to transform FE colleges across the country, investing £1.5 billion in upgrading the FE college estate by 2025-6. On 29 June my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister announced that £200 million of this capital funding would be brought forward to this year. This funding has now been provided to FE colleges and they are taking forward projects to improve the condition of their estate, providing a welcome boost to the economy.We are looking carefully at all elements of FE funding in preparation for the forthcoming Spending Review.

Confucius Institutes

Lord Goodlad: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have received regarding the activities of (1) Confucius Institutes in universities, and (2) Confucius Classrooms in schools; and what their response has been.

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay: A number of UK higher education providers host Confucius Institutes and are responsible for ensuring their partnerships are managed appropriately with the right due diligence in place.The government has received queries regarding Confucius Institutes and Confucius Classrooms, and it takes seriously any concerns regarding the operation of international organisations at UK schools and universities. The government will continue to support the higher education sector and other related bodies to promote mutually beneficial international partnerships and UK values.We encourage providers (including schools), if they have any concerns, to contact the Department for Education with any queries regarding their international collaborations.

National Skills Fund

Lord Watson of Invergowrie: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the written answer byBaroness Berridge on 30 March (HL2644), when they expect to launch a consultation on the National Skills Fund.

Baroness Berridge: The government remains committed to consulting widely on the National Skills Fund to ensure that we develop a fund that helps adults learn valuable skills and prepare for the economy of the future. We are providing £2.5 billion (£3 billion when including Barnett funding for devolved administrations), for the National Skills Fund.The department is continuing to review the ongoing implications of COVID-19 and we are considering the most appropriate time and approach we can take to launch the consultation, ensuring we have meaningful discussions with employers, providers and users.In the meantime, we will engage closely with stakeholders as we continue to develop detailed plans for the National Skills Fund, including considering what role the fund could play in meeting more immediate needs in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

The Senior Deputy Speaker

Parliament: Coronavirus

Lord Greaves: To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker what plans there are to provide COVID-19testing facilities within the Palace of Westminster or the Parliamentary Estate; and if there are any such plans, what advicewill beprovided to members in the House of Lords on the frequency with which they should, or must, be tested.

Lord Laming: The Senior Deputy Speaker has asked me, as Chair of the Services Committee, to respond on his behalf. We have sought advice from Public Health England in developing a policy on testing. Our policy remains that we adhere to applicable Government and PHE guidance, which is that anyone who is symptomatic should seek a test. That guidance also suggests testing of key workers who are self-isolating or whose household contains someone exhibiting the three main COVID-19 symptoms. The Parliamentary authorities have put in place a limited capacity for delivery of these tests. The testing is in order to maintain the resilience of the operation of the Chamber and committees. As testing is only availability in these limited circumstances, there is no advice on the frequency of testing. No one should come onto the Estate if they have symptoms, for any reason.